micky wrote:
Probably during the major update to win10 2 or 3 weeks ago, Task Manager
changed and now there is a status column. That wasn't there before, was
it?

And in that column on a few lines is a pointed hollow green balloon with
a short string hanging down.

That seems to mean that process is suspended.

It says that for me for Cortana, and just a second ago was added Cortana
Background Task Host, Microsoft Outlook Communicattions,
Microsoft.Photos.exe, Offic Hub Task Host, Video Application, and
Windows Shell Experience Host.

What did I do to cause these to be suspended.

What do they have in common?

Do I ever need them and will they come out of suspension if I do?

TIA

I expect the App model has been around and
consistent for a while.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win.../app-lifecycle

If an App is suspended, it can be killed if the OS needs
resources. But that's not an arrow in the diagram.

As an example, the Groove music player, when you
would iconify it, the music would stop playing. And
that means the task state changed, and the program
was not designed to deal with it. They fixed that.
(Now, I think Groove is slated for the chopping block.)

If an App program window isn't on the screen, it's a safe bet
that allows program state transition. Cortana might be
an exception, in the sense that the Cortana search
dialog entry box is always there. But if the Cortana
response window is not showing, there's no reason
for Cortana to be running in the foreground.

Paul